QLA and TC?

[Walks with fire]

I have a TC Pennsylvania Hunter with the QLA barrel. Could the QLA be causing accuracy problems with shooting patched balls? Would it be better to have it cut off?

 

[roundball]

I have a TC Pennsylvania Hunter with the QLA barrel. Could the QLA be causing accuracy problems with shooting patched balls? Would it be better to have it cut off?

I don't happen to like the QLA feature and got rid of the only one I ever owned...think it was nothing more than a marketing gimmick to attempt to keep TC customers at TC while tooling up some good inline rilfes to offer.

A ball can slide off the side of a patch during it's drop into the QLA and if you weren't paying attention and seated it that way, seems like it would have to affect consistency/accuracy.

If all you want to do is shoot round balls I'd just replace it with a TC 1:66" round ball barrel...the one I had made me so disgusted after one trip to the range that I complained to TC and they replaced it with a round ball barrel, with me paying just the differece of $10-20 bucks.

If you also want to shoot conicals, then keep it and use the next larger size caliber patches to better ensure some patch material stays up all around the ball.

Or keep it and buy your self a round ball barrel...but I wouldn't go to all the trouble, expense, possible problems, and voiding TC's warranty by cutting off the QLA.

My .02 cents

 

[BrownBear]

Several friends I shoot with regularly have them and a couple also have the TC RB barrel, so we've had the chance to shoot them side by side a lot. None have ever had the problem of dropping the ball in without a patch, but that may be a matter of time.

When it comes to RB accuracy, there is a slight edge to the 1:66 barrels, but in hunting terms it is more theoritical than practical. It would be enough to mean the difference for match shooting, but certainly not for hunting- even head shots on small game. We're talking the difference between 1" or so groups at 50 yards and 2" or so groups at 50 yards. If that's enough to bother you, by all means make the switch.

On the other hand, almost all the QLA's I've been around require a fairly tight patch/ball combo to achieve best accuracy. Stictly based on experience with no other info, I'm betting yours is pretty easy to start a ball, right?

Move up one notch in patch thickness and I'll bet it will shoot a whole bunch better, even if it is harder to start the ball. With one exception, my friends all found that with .490 RB, group size shrank noticeably when going from .015 patches to .018's.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

The purpose of the QLA was to align conical bullets so that they entered the bore straight and centered. Seems reasonable but I can't say if it really works as I don't shoot conicals. I have a T/C Penn Hunter with 1-66 round ball barrel with the QLA muzzle treatment so it seems they did not limit it to conical barrels. I find it does no harm, seems a bit like a "coned muzzle" which many here seem to favor. If your ball and patch combo is so loose that it "falls" into the QLA then it is too loose to shoot well anyhow. With the patch and ball combos I use the QLA still holds tight enough to cut patching at the muzzle, although one does need some care not to pull too hard on the cloth. :grin:

 

[Walks with fire]

This barrel is 31" long with supposedly .010 grooves and is 1/66" twist. It's made to shoot roundballs but it doesn't do it well enough for me to feel good hunting with it.

I have tried .490 and .495 balls, 3f and 2f, patches of .015/.018/ and recently .020. I have tried pre-lubed, Leigh, and mink oil lubes. The only thing I have not changed (which is next) is swabbing with TC 13 between shots followed by a dry patch.

With a clean barrel the first couple of shots are pretty good then it starts opening up to 4-8" at times. This gun is driving me nuts trying to figure out how to get a consistant group rather than a pattern with it after a few shots. A water cleaned and dry barrel shoots good the first shot then all h breaks loose and it starts spraying them around. It's not my shooting because I have others that don't display this tendency at all. I think I will change my cleaning patch juice next.

 

[Landngroove]

Some of my T/C MLs have QLA. In the past when I used factory pre-cut patches, of the correct caliber, I also had problems loading a PRB. I had to be careful, or the ball would slip off the edge of the patch and into the QLA area of the muzzle, or had a tendency to have the ball off center of the patch. I now cut my own patches, square, and loading is no problem. I think the extra cloth in the corners helps retain the ball. I have also used the next larger size, when using factory round patches, and this has helped. I don't see any difference in accuracy between my non QLA and my QLA MLs, when each is loaded correctly.

 

[mloader40]

I have a 1-66" QLA barrel for my TC Hawken and I am very pleased with the accuracy. I cut my patches at the barrel and that works great. The accuracy is one hole at 50 yards benched. Loading is a snap as the patch and ball contact the lands of the rifling as the ball just clears the muzzle and quick work with the knife completes the ball starting. Ram the ball home and you are ready to go.
Hope you try different loads and patches as I am sure that you will find the sweet spot and propper load.
Good luck,
Wayne

 

[arcticap]

I would cut the QLA off and have it recrowned. Because the QLA muzzle is deeper than a coned muzzle, I'm speculating that it's possible that the gases that are escaping around the ball before the PRB exits the muzzle may negatively affect accuracy. And who knows exactly how else the trajectory could be affected? Maybe the QLA has the affect of acting like an over bore shotgun choke tube, and just when the PRB leaves the lands of the rifling, your accuracy is being affected. Additionally, when the patch is included in the trajectory equation, that's just another unknown "X" variable that could make a difference.
Even though the QLA may not affect the accuracy of 1 (or 10) other rifles, doesn't mean that it can't negatively affect your rifle's accuracy.
If you can't solve the accuracy problem by other conventional means, consider having it cut off. It certainly shouldn't hurt to have it recrowned and you would only be improving the chances of achieving better accuracy by having it done. :winking:

 

[Walks with fire]

The funny thing about this barrel (octagon to round) is that it will shoot a saboted bullet great and when using roundballs it will shoot a great 2 or 3 shot group and then start opening up again. I really like this rifle but am about to give up on roundballs in it. I clean it out real good after done shooting and the first couple shots next time are great. :hmm:

 

[ffffg]

it surely sounds like your not softening the fouling enough with your wipe.. try using 1/2 water and 1/2 murphy soap oil on a quite damp patch and tight jag patch then if that dont work see what a damp patch with a little looser jag does. foulding has to at least be softened with moisture for the ball not to be crushed going by it.. then dry with one patch.. it has tobe repeated the same exactly each time.. more wet in dry weather less in wet weeather, this also with lube on patch more in dry weather less in wet weather.. try neatsfoot oil for patch lube. it also softens fouling.. its a small bore with lots of burnt powder and that is a tough problem.. so also try 3f and less powder to cut down on fouling if you have too... i had the trouble with this same gun when i got enough wipe liquide to soften the fouling it started misfiring/hangfireing.. flintlocks dont have that much trouble with that becouse it doesnt have the corner at the bottom of the nipple plugging up with wet blownback fouling... if your getting a couple good shots at first, sightin for that and go hunting with clean gun....below freezing i use tc lube in the tube on pathces, and 1/2 murphy soap oil and 1/2 denatured alcohol for wipes.. dave

 

[arcticap]

The only thing I have not changed (which is next) is swabbing with TC 13 between shots followed by a dry patch.
... I think I will change my cleaning patch juice next.

I agree that you should try that first, it can leave a hazy, whitish film behind. :thumbsup:

 

[Walks with fire]

I just came back in from shooting the TC PA Hunter on which I just put the new style lock on that TC sent me in place of my old one.

I shot around 20 shots with it and never cleaned the pan or frizzen at all. Fired everytime and the flint is probably still good for another 30 or 40 shots. What an improvement on their locks.

I also found my group walking problem. I had installed an RMC fiber optic sight on the rifle and it was loose enough to be moving around. It doesn't take much front sight movement to get a 6-8" spread. This sight has a little wedge that slides into the dovetail and then the front sight screws into the wedge. Well the screw was tight but the sight could still move left and right a little bit; got her back on target and crimped the dovetail down with a brass rod. She's shooting good again but still want to do some more work with 3f and .020 patches to see what happens over Thanksgiving weekend.

I found a wasps nest but it was high up in a pin oak tree and after throwing a piece of wood up there for about 10 min. I finally got a piece big enough for a 3 or 4 shot test. I won't do it until I have my best load worked up and it will be interesting to see if it will improve it.